Contoured ankle weight



Sept. 15, 1970 E. L. TARBOX CONTOURED ANKLE WEIGHT Filed Jan.

FIG. 2

INVENTOR ELMER L. TARBOX United States Patent Ofiice 3,528,652 Patented Sept. 15,, 1970 3,528,652 CONTOURED ANKLE WEIGHT Elmer L. Tarbox, P.0. Box 5426, Lubbock, Tex. 79410 Filed Jan. 5, 1968, Ser. No. 695,918 Int. Cl. A63b 23/04 U.S. Cl. 27257 1 Claim ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Weighted bands are shaped arcuately so that they may be strapped around the ankle buckled at the back and rest upon the top of the foot. They are secured to the foot, to prevent flopping, by a hook in the bottom of the band. The strap is buckled at the back of the ankle. The hook is at the front of the ankle whereby the hook may be engaged by a shoe lace.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the invention This invention relates to athletic equipment and more particularly to a weighted band to be worn around the ankle of an athlete.

Description of the prior art Previously it has been suggested that weighted bands be attached to the legs or the wrists of an athlete for training purposes. However, previously these were held to the lower leg by being securely strapped around the leg above the ankle.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to my invention, the ankle weights are contoured so that they fit around the ankle and rest upon the top of the foot. They are loosely strapped around the ankle and have a hook in the lower front edge so that the shoe lace may be hooked into the hook to hold the weight securely in place.

An object of this invention is to provide an ankle weight for an athlete.

Another object of this invention is to make an ankle weight which is comfortable to wear and which is secured to the shoe of the athlete so that it does not have any tendency to fiop.

Further objects are to achieve the above with a device that is sturdy, compact, durable, simple, safe, versatile, reliable and efficient, yet inexpensive and easy to manufacture.

The specific nature of the invention, as well as other objects, uses, and advantages thereof, will clearly appear from the following description and from the accompanying drawing, the different views of which are not necessarily to the same scale.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is a front elevational view of the ankle weight, according to this invention, lying flat.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken substantially on line 2-2 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a sectional detail of the hook.

FIG. 4 is a side elevational view of the weight attached to the foot of an athlete.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring specifically to the drawings, band is generally of arcuate configuration. The band is made of suitable material, and I find that canvas is a good material. The band is placed around the ankle as seen in FIG. 4

so that it fits the natural contour of the ankle and rests upon the upper surface of the foot, the band being larger at the bottom than the top when strapped to the ankle.

The fabric is formed with three sacs or pockets 11, 12, and 13. The pockets are weighted with lead shot 14. Triangular gores 16, or areas of the band 10 without sacs or pockets, are found between the three pockets. Therefore, each of the pockets 11, 12, and 13 is basically rectangular.

Straps 18 are attached to each end of the band and buckle 20 is attached to one of the straps 18. The buckle 20 is of the sliding-jam type. Thus means are provided to loosely strap the arcuate band 10 around the ankle regardless of the size of the ankle. Circular pads 22,. as might be made from leather, are provided over the ankle bone of each ankle to protect the band 10 where it protrudes in .this area. These also aid in securing the straps to the band.

Hook 24 is attached to the lower edge of periphery of the band in the front thereof. The hook 24 may be attached by any convenient means, but I find that to have it stapled through a hole extending through the fabric works well. Lace 26 of the shoe 28 upon the athlete may be readily laced or hooked through the hook 24 to secure the band 10 to the ankle of the athlete.

It will be understood that the band 10 is attached to the athlete by loosely strapping the band to the foot with the straps 18 and the buckle 20 at the back of the ankle, and allowing the weighted band to rest lightly upon the top of the foot with the weighted pocket 12 at the front and on the foot. Then as the shoe of the athlete is laced, lace 26 of the shoe is hooked into hook 24 at the bottom of the pocket 12 to hold weighted band down so that it does not bounce, joggle, or flop, upon the foot of the athlete as he exercises.

It will be apparent that the embodiment shown is only exemplary and that various modifications can be made in operation, construction, materials, and arrangement within the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claim.

I claim as my invention:

1. In an ankle weight for athletes having (a) a band of fabric,

(b) pockets in the band,

(0) weights in the pockets,

(d) at least one strap attached to the band for attaching the band to the ankle,

(e) said band being arcuate so that when the strap is secured the band is larger at the bottom than at the top thus fitting the contour of the foot,

(f) the improvement comprising in combination with the above:

(g) said strap at the back of the ankle,

(h) one of said weighted pockets resting on top of the foot when in use, and

(j) a hook attached along the lower border of the band at the bottom of pocket resting on the foot when in use so that a lace of a shoe may be used to secure the band snugly on the foot.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,789,374 4/1957 Planert 36--2.5 3,306,610 2/1967 Biggs 272-57 3,334,898 8/1967 McCory 272-57 3,366,380 1/ 1968 Montour 27257 3,427,020 2/ 1969 Montour 27257 RICHARD C. PINKHAM, Primary Examiner R. W. DIAZ, JR., Assistant Examiner 

